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iPod touch and external keyboards

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Q: I had a question. I currently have an iPod touch. I am not sure on the version, but I believe it is one of the newer ones though. I didn’t want to spend the money to get an iPad just yet. I am currently enrolled in college and my computer is about to call it quits and I can not really bring it to class. Could I use the docking station keyboard for the iPod I have? I would like to be able to type on a keyboard so it can go onto my iPod then I can e-mail it to myself or something along those lines.

- Kailey

A: Yes, despite the name the iPad Keyboard Dock can be used with any iPod touch or iPhone running iOS 4 or later. Notably, this excludes the original first-generation iPod touch since this model does not support iOS 4. All later iPod touch models released from 2008 onward are iOS 4 compatible and can be used with the iPad Keyboard Dock.

The biggest issue to keep in mind is that the iPad Keyboard Dock is designed to fit an iPad, and other devices may simply not fit properly in the actual dock. The iPod touch is thin enough that it shouldn’t be a problem, and in fact will even work with some cases as well. The iPhone 3G and iPhone 3GS will be a slightly tighter fit, and the iPhone 4 will not fit at all, even though it would otherwise be electronically compatible with the keyboard.

Note that the third- and fourth-generation iPod touch and iPhone 3GS and iPhone 4 also support wireless Bluetooth keyboards under iOS 4. The iPad Keyboard Dock is not particularly portable compared to many of the wireless Bluetooth keyboard options available, which range from Apple’s own wireless keyboard to a wide array of third-party keyboards that range from full-size traditional keyboard to folding keyboards that can be carried in your pocket.